Taika Waititi has been in the news for so many projects he’s working on, many wonders if he ever sleeps.
He is the executive producer of What We Do in The Shadows, director and executive producer of Reservation Dogs and director/co-screenwriter of Thor: Ragnorak and Thor: Love and Thunder. In all that he’s done, Taika Waititi continues to be an effervescent, genuine force of nature who values representation, comedy and dramatic undertones in his storytelling.
It comes as no surprise that his show, Our Flag Means Death (created by David Jenkins) on HBO Max, illustrates the same chaotic hilarity as the rest of his work. A TV show about pirates in the early 1700s, this show is loosely based on the true story of Edward “Blackbeard” Teach (played by Taika Waititi) and Stede “Gentleman Pirate” Bonnet (played by Rhys Darby). However, it reimagines them as fictional characters in a quirky, romantic comedy that manages to drive home dramatic themes of love, hope and loss.
Photo Credit: Aaron Epstein/HBO Max
Our Flag Means Death premiered season one’s first three episodes on March 3, 2022 and according to Parrot Analytics was the most in-demand TV show for eight consecutive weeks, surpassing Disney+ Moon Knight. According to Parrot Analytics, “the audience demand for Our Flag Means Death is 24.5 times the demand of the average TV series in the United States in the last 30 days…2.7% of all shows in this market have this level of demand.” In the aftermath of the show’s premiere, it became a flagship for representation like no other.
Why Is This Important?
Fans praised the show for its queer storyline, reframing the definition of power and oppression as it relates to their BIPOC, queer and non-binary characters. For too long fans from marginalized communities have felt left out of the narrative of most of their favorite TV shows – lack of racial and ethnic representation and years of queerbaiting story arcs that fizzle out and go nowhere. It’s a show where the characters are all shapes and sizes, pioneering the normalcy in body positive representation as well.
There is a true blend of many voices from different backgrounds in the writer’s room as well, but the creator, David Jenkins, has mentioned that he never positioned it to be a lottery of an allotted amount of BIPOC writers and queer writers. He wanted great people with varying experiences telling a story that is true to what they wish to see on television.
When the show had come out, it operated on a smaller budget than most HBO Max shows. HBO Max tweeted only twice about the show before it aired on the streaming service’s app. It didn’t have much publicity in terms of promotion, advertisement and social media presence. However, the fans love for the show bolstered it to successful heights within eight weeks of its premiere date.
Legacy
The relationship between the cast, crew and their fans have burgeoned into a hand-in-hand camaraderie. Fans are moved by the passion and love that the cast and crew have in making this show possible for them. There is a level of engagement that goes beyond most fandoms in contemporary media. Actors have called fans out to do fun, Our Flag Means Death challenges on social media. It’s become a communal experience between two groups that Hollywood often times tries to create a line between.
Our Flag Means Death seeks to change the narrative and status quo in more ways than one. It was announced that Season 2 was going to be renewed on the first day of Pride this year. As expected, it became a glorious celebration on Twitter between fans, the cast and crew after three grueling months of uncertainty of it’s renewal. And now they’re in the first month of production for Season 2, as show in Samson Kayo’s Instagram stories, a few days ago.
And in all of it, Taika has claimed that this show has been one of the shows he’s most proud of, as he works alongside his best friend of 20 years, Rhys Darby from Flight of the Conchords. On Taika’s Instagram on March 22nd, he posts the following from a fan (@vilbbit):
With the show having started production in late September, the show is due to come out sometime next year. It’s daringly going where no other show has gone before and if you’re able to save it on your list on HBO Max, it’s definitely encouraged to check out one of the most in-demand TV show of the year.